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Sammy Knight's 91-yard interception return is the Saints Play of the Day
Sammy Knight's 91-yard interception return is the Saints Play of the Day
We're going back to 1998's New Orleans Saints matchup with the Minnesota Vikings for Day 91 in our Saints Play of the Day countdown. This game had some wild moments -- we already highlighted Aaron Craver's controversial 100-yard kick return touchdown in this same series. But today, we're focusing on one of the best plays of Sammy Knight's career.
The second-year safety fought to rally his team in the fourth quarter by intercepting Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson for the second time that afternoon. His first takeaway, from inside New Orleans' own end zone, prevented a sure Minnesota touchdown early on. This time, Knight took the ball away from deep in Saints territory and ran 91 yards to score a touchdown of his own. He initially bobbled the catch before securing it and taking off with Cris Carter in tight pursuit. The future Hall of Famer couldn't bring Knight down in the open field, though, and Knight pulled off the big play. You can see it all for yourself here.
Doug Brien kicked the tying extra point, giving the team a chance. They just couldn't seal the deal. Facing a 31-24 deficit on their final possession, the Saints offense initially picked up 13 yards on a Billy Joe Tolliver pass, then Craver ran for 7 more. But that's where their luck ran out. Tolliver's next pass fell incomplete. He gained just 2 yards on the next completion, then ran for a yard on fourth-and-short. A 9-yard completion was wiped out by a 10-yard penalty on the next play, and then Tolliver took three sacks on second, third, and fourth down, losing 30 yards. Still, the Saints never would've had a chance in this one if not for Knight. His efforts deserve to be remembered.
